SOVIET PLAN FOR THE REFORMATION OF RURAL AREAS ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE VERKHNYAYA TROITSA VILLAGE, TVER REGION

Abstract

The article analyses the changes caused by the Soviet plans to transform the countryside, considering a specific example of a settlement in the Tver (former Kalinin) region. In the 1970s the studied village of the Verkhnyaya Troitsa was classified as a “viable” one; it was also included in a small number of villages chosen as “experimental and demonstrative”. Among the reasons for the close attention by the Soviet authorities was the fact that the village was a birthplace of M.I. Kalinin - the famous Soviet political figure. On the basis of statistical data, local history materials and our own field studies, a “portrait” of the Verkhnyaya Troitsa village was compiled for each of the four identified stages, i. e. pre-revolutionary, pre-war, late Soviet and modern. The dualistic consequences of the projects implemented during the Soviet period are shown. On the one hand, an ordinary village has become a large rural center; on the other hand, the remaining industrial and social facilities do not meet modern needs.